Arm-ing up for a tough fight

When Northern Twistmaster Armwrestling Club president Doug Curtiss says, “You have to be like water, you have to take the form of your opponent and take the path of least resistance,” you might want to take that as half-hearted gospel.

He might pin you with a perfectly executed top-roll if you don’t. More on that later.

The above quote is a paraphrased version of how Bruce Lee viewed the sport of martial arts, it’s also how Curtiss views the sport of armwrestling.

While hand position — the closer to the core the better — and manipulating body weight are two key components in the subtle nature of the sport, let’s focus on what we can visualize.

To construct the perfect armwrestler you’d start with a cartoon character.

“If you were built like Popeye, that would be one of the best builds you could have because he has giant forearms, giant hands and that’s were the business gets done,” Curtiss said. “A big, meaty hand is a huge advantage in armwrestling.”

Any occupation where the hands and forearms are the main source of exertion can go places in this sport.

“Ironworkers tend to excel, bricklayers, a labourer on the ground running a shovel all day,” Curtiss said. “Those types of guys tend to be become ferocious armwrestlers very quickly.”

Raw strength is important, but it’s important to have the strength focused in the right areas.

Muscle bound, beach-body boys and gals don’t often excel because a lot of their arm strength is located in the biceps area and that’s not going to work against an armwrestler with rippling forearms, an iron grip and technique.

You might be able to call it the holy trinity of armwrestling.

“If you don’t train your hands, or your wrists, the biceps will never come into play because a good armwrestler will take the biceps out of the equation, if he can,” Curtiss said.

The standard armwrestling table is comprised of a square elbow pad and a peg.

The elbow has to remain in contact with the pad at all times, the peg is anchored to the table and the competitor must hold onto it “not for strength, but when you turn your body in different positions.” There’s an imaginary line down the middle of the table that your body and shoulder can’t pass.

But what people are probably interested in is the pin.

“The elbow pad is supposed to be two inches high and the pin line is two inches above that,” Curtiss said. “You need to draw your opponent’s hand or wrist down below the pin line. Anything, from the bend in your wrist, all the way to your fingertips, any part of the hand below the four inches above the table.”

While there are many ways to get from A to B in terms of a pin, trying to power through the opponent will not work when facing an experienced hand.

From hand position in the grip, to the angle of the body, arms and hands, to the type of style employed, the list of options is never-ending.

“It is endless, the amount of combinations and motions you can use,” Curtiss said.

And the perfect technique? Everyone’s looking for a shortcut these days.

“A lot of people take up armwrestling because they’re looking for the answer, what’s the be all and end all technique?,” Curtiss said

“It doesn’t exist. You can develop one technique that will get you a long way. The problem is, when you get to that elite level, and your opponent has the answer, you better have other tricks.”

There are three basic moves from the start: the top-roll, the half-hook and the hook.

The top-roll involves pronating your wrist while pulling back towards yourself. From there you lean back and roll into your opponent’s fingertips, trying to open their hands. The half-hook means the middle of the two previous moves, looking to shoot through your opponent’s thumbs, trying to get the palm straight up.

And the hook? Anybody who has tried to armwrestle has probably done this one.